Galaxy S 4 Mini comes to the US next month; Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T onboard

The design looks like an S 4, but the spec sheet doesn't.

Samsung's Galaxy S 4 Mini is finally coming to America next month. First announced back in May, the budget smartphone features a similar design to the Galaxy S 4 but "shrinks" the device from a 5-inch screen to a 4.3-inch screen.

Don't get too confused by the name. This phone is not a tiny version of the Galaxy S 4; it just offers "some of the Galaxy S 4 experience," meaning that the software and exterior design are the same. Spec-wise, it's a much lower-end phone than the full-sized S 4, with a miniscule 960×540 resolution, 1.7GHz dual-core processor, and 1.5GHz of RAM. (The full-sized S 4 has a 1080p screen, 1.9GHz quad-core processor, and 2GB of RAM.) Hopefully the smaller phone will lead to a smaller price tag, but pricing information has not been announced yet.

The device comes in black and white and is slated to show up on Sprint, Verizon, AT&T, and US Cellular. The press release states that US availability starts in November, but it notes that "carriers will announce their specific availability, colors, and timing."

Ron Amadeo
Ron is the Reviews Editor at Ars Technica, where he specializes in Android OS and Google products. He is always on the hunt for a new gadget and loves to rip things apart to see how they work. Emailron.amadeo@arstechnica.com//Twitter@RonAmadeo